Letter writer: Governor’s Western Residence holds allure

The North Carolina Governor’s Western Residence is in Asheville. It is at 45 Patton [Mountain] Road in Asheville, situated near College Street in the downtown area. It has been a gubernatorial retreat for North Carolina governors for 12 administrations. With an iron gate around the 18 acres of lush mountainside, it has a sign at the front entrance that says “Governor’s Western Residence.”

It has been a home used by 12 governors and their families, and the guests who have visited the residence include the evangelist Billy Graham and also former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona and various garden clubs and library and school groups.

“You can see Mount Pisgah on a clear day,” says Kaye Myers, the former chairwoman of the nonprofit board that oversees operations and fundraising for the home [as reported in Our State magazine]. The tone of the interior rooms and surrounding grounds is the responsibility of the first lady. Family photos of all the families that have served since the 1960s hang in the family foyer.

The facility has had a few visitations of bears on its mountain campus, according to former governors Bev Perdue and Pat McCrory. The North Carolina Governor’s Western residence has two open houses, one during the summertime and one during the winter holidays. I plan on being in Asheville and attending the next open house at Asheville’s western governor’s residence.

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The twice-yearly open house is worth visiting at least once, especially in early summer, but if you’re part of a non-profit or civic / community group, the Western Residence is also a very good (and pretty affordable) space to host events.

Does anyone know when the spring 2017 open house at the Western Residence will be held? I can’t seem to find information on it anywhere. I even telephoned a representative of the residence itself, as well as the office of governor, a couple of weeks ago. As of now, I’ve received no response. Any info would be appreciated! Thanks!

Hi R.W., In my experience, the open house is usually in mid May (around the same time as graduations). However they usually don’t announce an official date until the week before and sometimes the day before. So keep a sharp eye between the 10th and 20th. We will have a post about it on Mountainx.com